What Can You Do After a PhD in Theoretical Physics?

[Silviu]

Hello! I want to go for a phD in theoretical physics (especially high energy) and I was wondering what approaches are available after phD. I guess you can work on already developed theories and develop them further (such as string theory or supersymmetry) or you can come up with your own, new ideas. Is there anything else that that a theoretical physicist can do? Thank you!

 

[.Scott]

In most cases, the objective would be to either get a job or make a job.
In either case, where ever the income is coming from, that's where the guidance comes as well.
Is your situation different?

 

[Silviu]

In most cases, the objective would be to either get a job or make a job.
In either case, where ever the income is coming from, that's where the guidance comes as well.
Is your situation different?

I am not talking about what to do in terms of jobs. I am talking about what paths can a theoretical physicist follow in terms of research (assuming you can choose anything you want). Like the goal is not to find a job but to come up with something new. Which ways can you follow to do that?

 

[.Scott]

Aren't you still going get your funding through DARPA or NIST or something like that? Or are you entirely self-funded?

 

[Silviu]

Aren't you still going get your funding through DARPA or NIST or something like that? Or are you entirely self-funded?

I am a bit confused. I am still undergraduate and I am asking for stuff after phD. I still have like 6 years and I am not sure about all the formalities. My question is what paths can I take, in general terms, as a theoretician

 

[.Scott]

Ahhh, still 6 years to go. Then you have 6 years to find your answer. Don't worry, there will still be plenty of things to discover then. Perhaps the most important part of your next 6 years of education will be an answer to this question of yours.

 

[Silviu]

Ahhh, still 6 years to go. Then you have 6 years to find your answer. Don't worry, there will still be plenty of things to discover then. Perhaps the most important part of your next 6 years of education will be an answer to this question of yours.

But I kinda need the answers now for a presentation. I would like advices from people that already followed a path, so I know what options I will have.

 

[DeathbyGreen]

I understand your question as asking what you study during a PhD. For a PhD you normally are learning about a field while at the same time developing new pieces of it. For example, I am in theoretical condensed matter and am working generally on topology, but my specific research is on areas of the field which are new and not understood. So to your question, you would (normally) take a field in which something is known, learn that field thoroughly, and then contribute something original to it to push it a little further.